简体中文
US forces killed “scores” of Russian mercenaries in Syria last week, according to multiple reports on Wednesday, highlighting the complexity of the battles raging within the Middle Eastern country.
The fatalities reportedly occurred when pro-government forces, including Russian contract fighters, clashed with the US-led coalition fighting ISIL in eastern Syria on February 7 and 8.
Bloomberg cited Russian sources as saying more than 200 mercenaries, including Russians fighting on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, died in an attack on a base held by US and Kurdish forces in the oil-rich Deir ez-Zor region.
A US official said around 100 fighters were killed and 200 injured.
The US said last week that 500 pro-Assad forces had crossed a deconfliction line in the Middle Euphrates Valley – the government controls the western side and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) the eastern – and advanced on an SDF base which also houses US advisers.
Most of the fatalities were the result of a US airstrike called in by the Kurdish fighters, sources told the New York Times. Syrian state media accused the US of a “brutal massacre” in the aftermath of the incident.
It has only emerged in recent days that Russian nationals may have been among those killed. The Times reported that the scale of the Russian casualties was revealed only as friends and relatives mourned on social media.
Russian officials have stressed that no members of its armed forces were involved in the incident. A Kremlin spokesman said at a news briefing on Tuesday: “We only handle the data that concerns Russian forces servicemen. We don’t have data about other Russians who could be in Syria.”
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis described the incident as “perplexing,” in a briefing en route to a security conference in Brussels on Wednesday, adding “it makes no sense, it does not appear to be anything coordinated by the Russians.”
Bloomberg reported that the US and Russia are in contact over the incident, with confusion over how it happened given that proper procedure was followed. The US forces reportedly used a hotline line to get Russia’s go-ahead to defend coalition forces against the attackers.
“Coalition officials were in regular communication with Russian counterparts before, during and after the thwarted, unprovoked attack,” a US military spokesman said in a statement.
The confusion surrounding the incident underscores the complex situation in Syria. With ISIL depleted, multiple state and non-state actors are involved in numerous conflicts within the country.
(CGTN)
